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Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

So far, we found very little information about Howland Flat. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>

We've added Howland Flat to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Howland Flat, please Contact Us.

We have a couple of goals for our Gazetteer:

  • That it be a tool which helps us with planning our trips.
  • We're trying to shape our Gazetteer as a tool to help us understand the community in which our ancestors lived, the community that was part of their daily lives.
  • On our trips, we try to visit those places where our ancestors left their footprints.

By learning about Howland Flat (and the surrounding area) during the time that our ancestors lived, we hope to have a better understanding of both their community and its relationship to their lifes. We hope that this tool helps to give us an insight into their world.

As we add data and organize our Gazetteer to help with our family research, we will be adding to this our Genealogical Helper for Howland Flat. While we don't have information that is specific to any given person or family, we intend to expand our understanding about where and how people lived.

Name Variations for Howland Flat ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Howland Flat: Howland Flt.

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

Neighboring Counties ...

When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties.

For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the west. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the south.

So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived:  their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the west contained birth and death records; the county to the south contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.

Although our information shows that the community of Howland Flat is historic, it would have been located within present day Sierra County.

To see how the shape of California's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Sierra County: Lassen, Nevada, Plumas, Yuba & Washoe (NV).

Below are the counties that are near Howland Flat. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Howland Flat:

  • Sierra County     (The home county of Howland Flat)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Howland Flat, with the one closest to Howland Flat listed first.
    • Poker Flat
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poker Flat
      • Poker Flat is located in Sierra County
    • Queen City
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Queen City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Queen City
      • Queen City is located in Sierra County
    • Downieville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Goodyears Bar
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Brandy City ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brandy City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brandy City
      • Brandy City is located in Sierra County
    • Forest
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest
      • Forest is located in Sierra County
    • Loganville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Loganville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loganville
      • Loganville is located in Sierra County
    • Sierra City
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Alleghany
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Calpine
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Sattley
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Sierraville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
  • Butte County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Howland Flat, with the one closest to Howland Flat listed first.
    • Lumpkin ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lumpkin have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lumpkin
      • Lumpkin is located in Butte County
    • Clipper Mills
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Oroleve
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oroleve
      • Oroleve is located in Butte County
    • Feather Falls
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Merrimac
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Merrimac have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrimac
      • Merrimac is located in Butte County
    • Evansville ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Evansville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evansville
      • Evansville is located in Butte County
    • Forbestown
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Robinson Mill
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robinson Mill
      • Robinson Mill is located in Butte County
    • Berry Creek
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Big Bar
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Bar
      • Big Bar is located in Butte County
    • South Fork ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Fork have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Fork
      • South Fork is located in Butte County
    • Big Bend
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Bend
      • Big Bend is located in Butte County
    • Pulga
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Nevada County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Howland Flat, with the one closest to Howland Flat listed first.
    • Graniteville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graniteville
      • Graniteville is located in Nevada County
    • Marsh Mill
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marsh Mill
      • Marsh Mill is located in Nevada County
    • North Bloomfield ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Bloomfield
      • North Bloomfield is located in Nevada County
    • Lake City
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake City
      • Lake City is located in Nevada County
    • North Columbia
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Columbia have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Columbia
      • North Columbia is located in Nevada County
    • Washington
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • North San Juan
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Blue Tent
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Tent
      • Blue Tent is located in Nevada County
    • Scotts Flat
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotts Flat
      • Scotts Flat is located in Nevada County
    • Baltimore Town
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Baltimore Town have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baltimore Town
      • Baltimore Town is located in Nevada County
    • Meadow Lake ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Meadow Lake. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow Lake
      • Meadow Lake is located in Nevada County
    • Summit City ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Summit City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit City
      • Summit City is located in Nevada County
    • Birchville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birchville
      • Birchville is located in Nevada County
  • Placer County
  • Plumas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Howland Flat, with the one closest to Howland Flat listed first.
    • Little Grass Valley
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Grass Valley
      • Little Grass Valley is located in Plumas County
    • La Porte
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Plumas Eureka
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Plumas Eureka have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plumas Eureka
      • Plumas Eureka is located in Plumas County
    • Johnsville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Spring Garden
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Garden
      • Spring Garden is located in Plumas County
    • Graeagle
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Mohawk
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mohawk have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mohawk
      • Mohawk is located in Plumas County
    • Massack
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Massack
      • Massack is located in Plumas County
    • Cromberg
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Greenhorn
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenhorn have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenhorn
      • Greenhorn is located in Plumas County
    • Blairsden
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • East Quincy
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Quincy
      • East Quincy is located in Plumas County
    • Quincy
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
  • Shasta County
    • Bear Valley ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bear Valley. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Valley
      • Bear Valley is located in Shasta County
  • Yuba County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Howland Flat, with the one closest to Howland Flat listed first.
    • Strawberry Valley
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Depot Hill ‑ Historic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Depot Hill. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Depot Hill
      • Depot Hill is located in Yuba County
    • Camptonville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Garden Valley ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Garden Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden Valley
      • Garden Valley is located in Yuba County
    • Foster Bar ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Foster Bar have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foster Bar
      • Foster Bar is located in Yuba County
    • Bullards Bar ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bullards Bar have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bullards Bar
      • Bullards Bar is located in Yuba County
    • Challenge
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Brownsville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Dobbins
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Rackerby
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Howland Flat, see our County-by-County Page for Howland Flat.

Newspapers Published in Howland Flat ...

An ongoing effort between the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has resulted in the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).

To share their results, the partnership has created the Chronicling America website. The goal of this partnership is to assemble a database about the current and historic newspapers of the United States. This includes a growing collection of scanned images from selected papers. All of it available to the public on their website.

Using information that we've taken from the Chronicling America website, we've identified 18 newspapers that have been published in the area around Howland Flat.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Howland Flat, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Howland Flat.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer websites offer the information directly or else point to where you can find it. Their information is open to everyone.

To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that are relevant to Howland Flat:

Cemeteries Near Howland Flat ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Howland Flat.

This is a new section and is likely to have errors. If you find an error, such as a missing cemetery or we have the wrong name, please let us know. If you know of them, we would also appreciate learning about previous or alternate names.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Howland Flat covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Howland Flat, with the one closest to Howland Flat listed first.

  • Howland Flat Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Howland Flat Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Howland Flat Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2186787 <6>
  • Pine Grove Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • St. Louis Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the St. Louis Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Louis Cemetery is located 3 miles [4.8 km]<5> to the west of La Porte.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Louis Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #8331 <6>
  • Gibsonville Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • La Porte Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Port Wine Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Eureka Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Eureka Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Eureka Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #7955 <6>
  • Scales Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Scales Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Scales Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2361724 <6>
  • Downieville Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Johnsville Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Goodyears Bar Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • Mohawk Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (32 more) ...
    • Cromberg Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Cromberg Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cromberg Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #7925 <6>
    • Brandy City Cemetery
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Brandy City Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Brandy City Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2217386 <6>
    • Forest City Cemetery
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)

Nearby Communities in 1895 ...

We've built the following list with information that came from an Atlas published by Rand McNally in 1895. The Atlas had details such as the population of the community (which appears to have come from the 1890 Census) and whether there was a post office and/or railroad service available. We also indicate if the community no longer exists and is now historic.

While we didn't find Howland Flat in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Howland Flat.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Howland Flat, with the one closest to Howland Flat listed first.

  • Saint Louis
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Louis have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Louis
    • Saint Louis is located in Sierra County
  • Gibsonville
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gibsonville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibsonville
    • Gibsonville is located in Sierra County
  • La Porte
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Scales ‑ Historic
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Scales have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scales
    • Scales is located in Sierra County
  • Johnsville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Downieville
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Goodyears Bar
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • Mohawk
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mohawk have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mohawk
    • Mohawk is located in Plumas County
  • Cromberg
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Quincy
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
  • Strawberry Valley
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Sierra City
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Alleghany
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Meadow Valley
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Lumpkin ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lumpkin have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lumpkin
      • Lumpkin is located in Butte County

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Howland Flat. See our List of 1890's Communities around Howland Flat.

The official website for Sierra County: www.sierracounty.ws/

The official website for State of California: https://www.ca.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Howland Flat, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<2>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<4>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<5>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Howland Flat) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Howland Flat. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.7149, Longitude: -120.8866       In this case, the coordinates for Howland Flat have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The Find-a-Grave website is an excellent research tool with information about a cemetery's location and interments. They also offer a forum for their members which can provide additional help. More information about Find-a-Grave can be found on their website: findagrave.com.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024